


Birds of a Feather

by Dragonshifter



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, Allura is pretty cool, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Wings, Avian Au, Female Pidge | Katie Holt, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Hunk (Voltron) Has Anxiety, Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), Insecure Pidge (Voltron), Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron)-centric, Langst, Matt is a good brother, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Other, Pidge (Voltron) Angst, Pidge | Katie Holt-centric, Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron), Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Teacher Coran (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-04-22 06:36:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14302965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonshifter/pseuds/Dragonshifter
Summary: Katie has never liked her wings. They're too ugly- like a pigeon's. She wished she could have pretty wings like Allura, or Shiro, or Keith, or Hunk, or Coran, or Lance! Oh, wait... she's never actually seen Lance's wings?Lance has never had wings. Period. He wishes he had wings at all, and he wished Pidge could see how beautiful her wings actually are.The rest of the paladins just want everyone to be happy, why can that never be easy?





	1. Voltron? What's Voltron?

     The sun filtered through the open window of a large, elegant library. The breeze turned a few pages of the open book in front of a small lump on a desk surrounded by even more books. Had Katie been awake, she would have turned back to the page she was on with a frustrated sigh before finding something to substitute as a bookmark. After she had found that something, she would get up, stalk over to the open window, and shut it almost violently.

     As it were, Katie was not awake. In fact, this was the first time she was not awake for the past three days. Matt stared down at his little sister fondly, and with a twinge of regret, he shook her gently.

     “Mmmm…. Five more minutes…” Katie mumbled, shifting her head away from the window. Matt chuckled and shook her a little less violently.

     “‘M sorry Pidge, but you need to get up or you’re going to be late” Matt tried.

     “Don’ call me Pidge….” was the only reply he got.

     “If you pass the Garrison exam today I’ll sneak a few peanut butter cookies from mom’s secret stash,” Matt said, this time more successful.

     “Peanut butter cookies?” Katie asked tiredly, perking up and stretching, “Hey Matt… what time is it?”

     “Time for you to go, or you’re going to be late,” Matt said, pointing to the large grandfather clock tucked into the corner of the library. Noticing the time, Katie swore lightly under her breath and nearly tripped over her feet trying to get out of the room. Her small, light-gray wings fluttering behind her in nervous energy.

     Katie kicked up into the air as soon as she was outside, flying swiftly towards where the Garrison Exams were being held. _‘At least they’re good for something’_ Katie thought bitterly, glad she hadn’t had time that morning to stare into a mirror and mourn the ugly clump of feathers people referred to as wings. She shook the thought out of her mind. _‘No! Right now I need to quickly get to the Garrison, show off my intelligence and magical skills, get accepted, and fly back home in victory.’_ Katie thought stubbornly. She made herself relax and enjoy the breeze that teased her hair and feathers as she flew.   
Katie spotted the aesthetic-looking Garrison building. The red bricks and green vines that adorned them gave such a homely feeling that it made her almost doubt that she was in the right place. But no- right pass the pretty building, the Garrison training and knowledge buildings came into view. The photogenic building was housing for teachers and staff, as well as the entry exams. The other buildings more accurately represented the military school base. The dull, gray exterior and almost undetectable security charms were far from pleasing to look at and some theorized that the lack of decorations was to drive the students absolutely mad. Katie thought those people were just overly dramatic.

     Still, Katie was not looking forward to staying in one of those prison-like dorm rooms for the entirety of the school year. Matt liked to say that the library was his only escape and Katie suspected that it would be much the same for her.   
Katie dropped down in front of the testing building and quickly donned the jacket tied around her waist- which successfully hid her ugly wings. There were zippers on the back that would allow her to free her wings if she so desired, but Katie highly doubted she would.

     Done hiding her wings, Katie entered the building and approached the front desk.

     “Um, hello?” she said to the Garrison lady that looked very hawk-like, “I’m Katie Holt, I’m here for the mage entry exam”

     “Go down that hall and enter the first door to the right” the lady instructed, sliding Katie a name tag. Katie nodded, putting the name tag on, and headed towards the room. She was surprised when she entered the room to find several other hopeful students and a few instructors. She had been imaging the exam to be a little more… private. Ah well, at least she wouldn’t need to show her wings.

     She looked around the room and tried to find a free instructor. She spotted her dad off to the side with some guy with huge, golden, eagle-like wings and an orange bandana. At first glance, one would assume he might be a little intimidating, but upon further investigation, Katie decided that this, nervous, stuttering, gentle boy was anything but intimidating.

     Katie decided not to interrupt them and instead continued her search. A few moments later she noticed a small, portly looking professor by the name of Professor Montgomery. She headed over to the professor and waved her hand to gain her attention.

     “Hello? Professor Montgomery? Hi, I’m Katie Holt and I’d like to begin my exam,” Katie blurted out and blushed slightly. Professor Montgomery simply nodded and wrote something down on the clipboard in her hands.

     “Hello Miss Holt, I’d like you to begin by casting a shielding spell of any difficulty,” the professor instructed and Katie obliged. Katie was able to cast a full shield but it only lasted for a minute or two before poking it with a pencil would make it shatter. Professor Montgomery nodded and scribbled something down on her clipboard.

     “Now would you cast a healing spell on my finger?” Montgomery challenged after she used a spell to make a small cut on herself. This was a little risky, considering that a healing spell could go as far as completely detaching her finger if done incorrectly. However, Katie knew she would be able to heal the minor injury and did just that. Montgomery had her do a few more defensive spells and a few offensive spells. Montgomery’s expression gave nothing away as she scribbled her last observation onto her clipboard.

     “Thank you, Katie, now would you please go through that door. Once you’ve gone through there, you will take a written exam. They will tell you what to do once you’ve finished” Montgomery instructed and vanished the paper into thin air. It was probably going to whoever decided who was accepted or not.

     “Thank you, professor, I hope I’ll be seeing more of you,” Katie said, even as she was walking towards the door.

     The most startling thing about the room was the absolute silence. After a minute, Katie was able to identify it as a limited silencing spell. She noticed an empty seat next to the boy she had noticed earlier, so she headed over there and took a seat. Now Katie was able to read ‘Tsuyoshi Garret’ on his nametag.

     A paper and pencil appeared in front of Katie when she sat down and she started the test. It was fairly easy but there were a few questions that stumped her. Tsuyoshi left before she finished her test and his seat was quickly taken by some other person Katie didn’t recognize. Katie got to the last question and paused. It was an unusual test question and it read, ‘In one or more sentences, evaluate yourself and give your opinion on the test you just took.’ Katie thought for a moment before writing down her answer. Right as she set down her pencil, the paper and pencil vanished and a voice filled her head.

_“You have just finished your exam. Please go out the door on the left side of the room and wait in the waiting room. Once there and once the other tests have been completed, you will receive a letter informing you of your success or failure. The letter will also contain team information and your room situation. Thank you for your participation,”_ the voice said, and Katie frowned at the mention of having to wait. Well, it was reasonable and Katie understood that, but Katie was also a very impatient person.

     Instead of dwelling on it longer, Katie exited the room and made her way to the waiting room. The room was filled with both Mages and Warriors. Katie could only be grateful that it was so large. All around, people gloated at the inevitably of them succeeding and flaunted their wings. Their beautiful wings. Katie was jealous of their confidence but knew that their confidence in their wings was justified.

     There were a few others hiding their wings, so Katie wasn’t completely out of place. The thing was if you hid your wings, it meant you were distrustful of others and so it would be harder for them to trust you in turn. Wings were the primary way of telling one’s emotions and it reading them was something someone learned at a young age. The fact that Katie wasn’t trustful of others wasn’t unjustified though, her years of being teased about her wings through Elementary and Junior High School only one of the reasons she hid them.

     Off to the side, Katie spotted a now familiar looking bandana. She debated going over and talking to Tsuyoshi and before she knew it she was heading over there. It was easy to push through the crowds- her small frame being of benefit for once. However, she wasn’t all that mindful of her environment- which meant that she felt only a slight push before she was tumbling forward. She was surprised to see she hadn’t hit the floor and looked up to see a lanky boy with dark skin and startling blue eyes.

     “Hey beautiful, I see you’ve fallen for me already,” the guy said, and it took a moment for Katie to process what he said. When she finally did, she felt her cheeks burn up in embarrassment as she tried to stutter out a reply.

     “W-what?” was her intelligent response. She heard a groan come from behind the lanky boy, and Katie looked up to see Tsuyoshi standing behind him, looking exasperated.

     “Lance, don’t harass the poor girl,” Tsuyoshi said, “sorry ‘bout that. My name is Tsuyoshi, but my friends call me Hunk” Tsuyoshi said, helping Katie righten herself.

     “What should I call you then?” she asked hesitantly.

     “Hunk would be great,” he replied easily, “my friend here is Lance. Please don’t pay attention to his flirting. I swear his mind goes on autopilot whenever he sees a cute girl.” Lance let out an offended gasp.

     “It does _not!”_ Lance exclaimed, “what’s wrong with complimenting someone?!”

     “Nothing, but that’s not what you’re doing-” Katie stopped paying attention to their argument once her brain processed that apparently, _both_ boys thought she was cute. _‘Ha’_ she thought, _‘they wouldn’t think that if they saw my wings. Wings…’_ Katie’s eyes snapped to where Lance’s wings _should have_ been but realized that he too, kept them hidden.

     “So what’s your name?” Lance asked, seeming to forget that name tags were a thing.

     “Katie Holt,” she replied easily. Lance’s brow furrowed in concentration- as though he recognized the name but couldn’t quite place where exactly. Hunk, however, seemed to recognize the name right away- which made sense, considering her dad had been the one to test him. His eyes flew wide and his jaw dropped.

_“Holt?!”_ he asked, “As in, Samuel and Matthew Holt? Two legendary mages? You’re related to _them?_ That’s- wow, that’s so cool. I heard your entire family is full of prodigies,” Hunk gushed excitedly. Katie blinked in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to call her family _cool_ or even _legends_.

     “Um, yeah? I guess? Dad and Matt are both complete dorks, I wouldn’t call them _legendary_ or anything…” Lance suddenly snapped his fingers.

     “Holt!” he exclaimed, “your dad and Matt were in the Kerberos Team right? With Takashi Shirogane? Now _that guy_ is a legend”

     Katie snorted, “Shiro is almost like a second dad, I wouldn’t call _him_ legendary either”

     “What?! You’ve _met_ him?! That guy’s my hero!” Lance shouted, “will you introduce me?”

     Katie was about to answer when suddenly a letter appeared in her hands, interrupting her reply. Realizing what it was, Katie tore the letter open and began to read.

 

_‘Katie Holt,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the Garrison! Not only have you been accepted into the Garrison, but you have shown certain qualities that we have been looking for to start a new type team we call Voltron. In your team, Keith Kogane, Tsuyoshi Garret, and Alejandro McClain will be apart of your team. Takashi Shirogane and Allura Altea will be your specialized trainers, overseen by Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe._

_You will receive special rooming in a new building we have installed, currently known as the Castle of Lions. A map to the Castle is attached to the back of this letter. More information will be granted to you once you meet with all of your team tomorrow at 6:00 AM. For now, all you need to know is that you are now under the specialized Green Lion Voltron training program._

_Thank You for your participation,_

_Commander Iverson'_

 

     “We’re on the same team!” Lance exclaimed, pulling both Hunk and Katie into a group hug. Hunk simply laughed and hugged back.

     “Huh?” Katie asked, “but…”

     “Oh yeah, sorry, my first name is Alejandro,” Lance explained, finally releasing the two, “too bad we also have mullet on our team. But at least I get to _work with_ Takashi Freaking Shirogane!”

     “Mullet?” Katie questioned.

     “Keith Kogane. Lance is under the impression that they’re rivals or something,” Hunk explained.

     “Oh, okay,” Katie said, “So you guys want to try and find this _‘Castle of Lions’_?”

     “Keith _is_ my rival,” Lance insisted, “In fact, I bet we’ll make it to the Castle before him!” he said, already pulling the two along. Hunk gave Katie a look that she supposed meant something, but she kind of sucked at social anything, so she didn’t completely receive what it was supposed to mean.

     Katie wondered why Lance didn’t just fly if he was so intent on beating Keith, but she supposed that was a bit hypocritical of her. Just in case it was a sensitive topic or something, Katie didn’t mention it and just let Lance drag them towards where the map showed the Castle would be.

     Katie would argue that the Castle looked nothing like a castle. More like a fancier version of the place she had thought she would be staying earlier. True, it seemed more comfortable, and even a little bit homely, but the outside was still a lump of dull metal. They entered the Castle and Katie was suddenly struck by how _big_ it was. Was this really supposed to only hold six people? It seemed, well, wasteful, if she was being completely honest.

     Looking around, Katie noticed that the floor at lines of six different colors that seemed to glow and Katie remembered the letter mentioning something about a green lion or something.

     “Hey guys, do you think we’re supposed to follow these lines or something?” Katie asked, already following them.

     “Yeah, probably,” Hunk replied. For the most part, they headed in the same direction. The pink, black, and orange ones the only ones that differed- and only after they had passed at least two hallways. Finally, Katie found that she’s stopped in front of a room with a green lion paw painted on the door. She was so focused on following her line, that she hadn’t noticed another figure already there in the hallway.

     “Um, hi?” the figure said, causing them all to jump slightly. Katie turned to where the voice had come from and noticed a boy with beautiful raven wings that had natural, red highlights. He also had a mullet. _‘Ah, this must be Keith.’_ She thought, and a moment later her thoughts were confirmed when Lance spoke.

     “Keith?! How did you get here before us?!”

     “Um, do I know you?”

     An offended squawk.

     “The names _Lance_ ”

     “Who?”

     “Lance! You know, your rival! Lance and Keith, neck to neck!”

     “Oh wait, I know you! You’re that level one fighter from elementary or something”

     “Unbelievable”


	2. Feeling Blue

    Lance wasn’t sure whether to panic or be relieved. On one hand, everyone got the privacy of their own room- so Lance wouldn’t have to worry about explaining his bare back to some disgusted roommate who would end up blabbering to the whole school, but on the  _ other  _ hand, with such an intimate training and team space, people would undoubtedly ask questions eventually. Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe they would find out and be accepting and won’t be completely horrified by the fact that he was wingless. 

    Lance chuckled darkly. Who was he kidding? They’d probably ask for him to be kicked out of Voltron- and then word would spread and no one would want him on their team. He’d eventually be kicked out of the Garrison entirely. No, he couldn’t tell anyone. He’d hide it as long as possible and cherish the time until he was eventually found out. 

    Now Katie was another question. Was she just insecure about her wings? Wingless? Or did she actually not trust the team. He supposed he was being unfair and a bit of a hypocrite. She had no reason to trust them, they had all only just met! And it wasn’t like  _ he  _ trusted the team- not with the fact that he was wingless. He didn’t trust  _ anyone  _ with that. So yeah, Lance supposed he should stop his pity party and head out to dinner. 

    There was a singular blue line leading away from his room- Lance supposed that meant he was late. He made his way down the hall but after a few minutes, his nose would have led him to his destination. It wasn’t that the smell was  _ good _ , quite the opposite in fact. Lance found himself already regretting emerging from his room for dinner. Maybe it was better than it smelled? Just as Lance was about to enter the room, Hunk burst out and flew down the hall to the nearest bathroom, clutching his stomach. Okay, so it was a 'no' on food then. 

    “Hey, what’s up with Hunk?” He questioned as he entered, pointing a thumb in the direction he had just come from. 

    “This……  _ thing  _ that Coran calls  _ food  _ disagrees with his stomach. He was the only one brave enough to try it” Katie said, glumly looking down at her plate. Lance looked at the plate and had to agree with Katie… It really wasn’t food. 

    “Wait, Coran? He’s our supervisor right?” Lance said, scanning the room and realizing that a few people he didn’t recognize were also there. Besides Katie and Keith, there was an eccentric looking gentleman with bright orange wings that matched his hair and mustache- Lance guessed this was Coran, a beautiful woman with white hair and white, dove-like wings that were tinted pink on the bottom of her feathers (was that natural???), and someone Lance would be able to recognize blindfolded (okay that was a lie, he had to be able to  _ see  _ to know it was his Hero). Takashi Shirogane. He had dark black wings that looked almost purple. The bottoms of his feathers were white- a startling contrast to the rest of his midnight colored feathers- and matched the white fringe in his hair. That part wasn’t natural- and neither was the prosthetic right arm. Ouch.

    Lance hadn’t even realized Shiro had gotten up and was offering his hand for a handshake until he was standing right in front of him. With a start, Lance took the hand and shook it. Shiro was even more impressive in person. 

    “The name’s Lance,” he managed to squeak out, somewhat embarrassed. Shiro just chuckled. 

    “Takashi Shirogane, but you can call me Shiro. Welcome to the team,” okay Lance, keep it cool. It’s not like your  _ hero  _ is standing right there and is going to be helping you train or anything. Lance was totally fanboying right now. 

    Katie coughed, “Right, um, so…. My brother is coming to see me. Do you think I can get something edible before then?” And of course, Hunk just happened to be walking in right then. 

    “I could cook something if that’s alright with everyone,” he suggested and Lance sighed in relief.

    “Yes, please bless us with your godly cooking!” Lance latched himself onto Hunk and peered up at him with pleading eyes. Hunk laughed and tried to push Lance off of him. 

    “Come on buddy, I can’t cook if you’re hanging on to me like that.” This quickly got Lance to let go. He was still embarrassed about his reaction to Taka- Shiro, but Hunk’s cooking would hopefully help him forget this tiny little fact. Lance’s thoughts were interrupted when Shiro spoke. 

    “Matt’s coming? I thought he was on medical bedrest….?” Shiro asked, suddenly looking…. Guilty? Lance wondered what that was about. The events of the Kerberos Mission were highly classified and had resulted in the three heroes going missing for a year. Lance wondered if Katie knew what happened. Her expression had softened at Shiro’s concern though as she replied to his inquiry. 

    “He’s doing fine Shiro. He’s coming back for good in about a week to help train a group called The Rebels. You should see his leg though! I got to help design his prosthetic. The combination between technology and magic is simply beautiful!” Katie rambled, eyes seeming to light up when she spoke of the prosthetic. Huh. This was… interesting. Even though she didn’t show her wings, Lance could clearly tell how passionate she was about this subject. 

    “That’s good to hear Pidge,” Shiro chuckled. Katie’s expression soured. 

    “He got  _ you  _ to start calling me that too?”

    “Pidge? Where does that come from?” Lance asked curiously but immediately regretted it when Katie turned her icy glare on him. 

    “None of your business. Don’t call me that,” She snapped. Lance frowned and noticed Shiro looking at Katie in concern. 

    “No need to bite his wings off Katie,” a voice said from the doorway and everyone's head snapped to the new figure leaning against the door frame- large, almost honey colored wings extended from his back, matching his hair. It wasn’t hard to see that he and Katie were related- in fact if Katie cut her hair; donned large, round glasses; and grew a few inches; Lance would be tempted to call them twins- or even clones. He wondered if that’s what Katie’s wings looked like- for some reason Lance didn’t think the color would suit her as much as they suited Matt. 

    “Matt! When did you get here?” Katie exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and going to hug her brother, “and if it’s anyone’s fault for calling me that it’s yours- maybe I should just bite  _ your  _ wings off” She was pouting but somehow still seemed happy. Lance’s eyes were drawn to the silver glint that shown from Matt’s ankle. Only a sliver of his prosthetic was showing, leaving Lance wondering how Katie saw beauty in something like that. 

    “Oh, you must be Matt!” Hunk said, interrupting the moment, “I’ve just finished making dinner if you want to join us!” 

    “Um, sure,” Matt said, seemingly surprised by the sudden appearance of Lance’s best friend. Speaking of best friend- were those garlic knots?! 

    “Hunk, you are an angel,” Lance said, already reaching for one of the delectable knots. Hunk rolled his eyes and simply handed Lance the plate while he went to gather plates of other foods. Somehow Hunk had been able to tell that Lance was feeling down- or he just felt like making garlic knots. Either way, Lance was grateful. 

    “That was rather fast,” Allura spoke for the first time (Or the first time Lance had been truly paying attention to it- he had been too busy freaking out over Shiro earlier), “does cooking not typically last longer than that?”

    “It does,” Lance answered, “but Hunk has perfected the art of combining magic and cooking- which makes go  _ way  _ faster”

    Coran squawked in indignation, “That’s  _ cheating _ ” 

    “Maybe,” Hunk said, entering once again with more food, “but it’s also delicious,” The others had also begun eating and simply nodded in agreement to Hunks statement, much to Coran’s chagrin. Keith had been quiet the whole time- simply crossing his arms and looking gloomy, but even  _ he  _ seemed impressed with Hunk’s cooking. Of course, he was, who wouldn’t be? 

    Lance knew that his little ‘rivalry’ with Keith was stupid. He didn’t know  _ why  _ he did it, but Lance has always felt like Keith was looking down on him. Their interaction this morning only seemed to solidify that thought in his eyes. Of course, Keith hated him though. He was everything that Lance wished he was. A fantastic fighter, beautiful wings, even  _ popular _ . Okay so Lance knew that Keith was kinda a loner, but for as long as Lance had known Keith he had heard girls fawning over him. It was dumb, Lance knew it wasn’t  _ Keith’s  _ fault he didn’t have wings, but Lance didn’t know how to stop. So he didn’t. 

    Dinner continued and conversation flowed. Lance contributed to everything, eager to get to know his new team and try to figure them out. Katie didn’t seem to talk much, instead, she had pulled out a robot-thing and started tinkering with it. Where it had come from, Lance had no idea, but she seemed content with not interacting with anyone- even her brother. Matt and Shiro kept glancing at her in concern but either she didn’t notice, or she didn’t care. Even Keith talked more than her. Lance suspected that she would be the hardest to figure out- and for some reason that made her even more interesting. Lance decided he would try his hardest to become her new best friend- he only hoped he’d be able to before the team ultimately found out his greatest secret and exposed him for the monster he was. 

    Lance was so caught up in planning that he didn’t notice the concerned looks Hunk was shooting him or the intense look Keith would give him every now and then. It was true that Hunk was his best friend, but even  _ he  _ didn’t know Lance’s secret, By now he had just grown to accept it. Lance knew Hunk had his suspicions, but he hadn’t voiced any of them yet- for which Lance was eternally grateful. He couldn’t lie to Hunk. Well… not directly. 

 

    It was after dinner that Lance got cornered. Keith had made it to him before Hunk- surprisingly. 

    “I’m sorry,” Keith blurted out, his gaze intense and fierce. 

    “Um, what?” Lance asked, confused. Keith’s wings hunched up as if he were trying to protect himself from some unknown evil. He was… scared? Worried? 

    “Um, so I’m not… good. At this. I’ve never really been good with-” Keith seemed to be struggling with his words while Lance simply stood there looking shocked, “-with  _ people _ . Or, well,  _ talking to  _ people. Both. But, uh… I realized what I said earlier might have, I don’t know, hurt you or something so… sorry” Lance stood speechless for a few minutes- which only seemed to Keith even more on edge. Did that really just happen?! Had Keith  _ apologized  _ to him?! Was this the same Keith Lance had thought he knew? This was just a dream, right? Lance pinched himself.  _ ‘Ow. No, so not a dream.’ _

    “Um… wow. I was… not expecting that. Um… thanks? You’re good, I was probably just… overreacting or something. As always. You know me! Lance McClain… Drama Queen Extraordinaire” Lance said awkwardly. Keith seemed to relax though, not seeming to notice the edge in Lance’s voice. 

    “Um, right. So uh… bye. I’ll see you in the morning,” and just like that Keith was gone. Huh. Okay then. Weird. 

    Lance hadn’t even made it past the next door before Hunk was there, hugging him. 

    “Hunk? Everything okay?” Lance asked, hugging him back.

    “I think I should be the one asking that. You seemed down after our interaction with Keith. Even my garlic knots didn’t seem to cheer you up completely!” Ah. Leave it to Hunk to see right through Lance. Lance relaxed in his hold, a smile covering his face. 

    “Yeah, I’m alright. Thanks, Hunk. Keith actually came by a few minutes ago and apologized. Weird right? And I was under the impression he hated me or something” Hunk pulled away, but still held onto Lance’s shoulders, looking at him even more intensely than Keith had. 

    “Lance, how could  _ anyone  _ hate you? You are one of the nicest people I know!” Lance only shrugged, not really convinced. He smiled anyway. 

    “I don’t know man, that’s just what I thought” 

    “Well… how about the next break we get we have a spa day,” Hunk suggested, sensing Lance’s unease. Lance immediately brightened up. 

    “I don’t deserve you Hunk! You’re the best!” Lance quickly hugged Hunk once more, “Well, I gotta go! Get my beauty sleep and all. If you need me, I’ll be in my room! Night Hunk! You’re the best. Too good for this world. Ultimate cinnamon roll. Hufflepuff to the core” Lance said as he entered his room and only caught Hunk rolling his eyes once the door was about to shut. Hunk had been smiling though, so score for Lance! 

    Lance went to the bathroom attached to his room and took a quick (ish) shower. He put his pajamas and face mask on. He pulled out his tablet and decided to read until it was time to take the mask off. It wasn’t long though before Lance got bored and decided he would go and get a quick snack. As he approached the kitchen though, he noticed the lights were on. As he came closer he could make out two voices.

    “...sure you’re going to be okay?” Matt.

    “I’ll be fine. Everyone seems nice enough,” Katie.

    “That’s not what I meant Katie. We haven’t really been apart after… after Kerberos. I just- you had a panic attack when you heard that you wouldn’t be able to see me in the hospital afterward,” Matt said.

    “Yeah well… I had just helped rescued you guys from Galra territory and they told me I couldn’t even  _ see  _ you? Of course, I freaked out,” She said, almost too quietly for Lance to hear. What the Quiznack was that about?! 

    “We still need to find out who that Galra is that helped you. This could mean there’s a rebellion within the Galra ranks. This could help out our mission incredibly,” 

    “Matt… whose idea was it to create Voltron? If I’m right then this is for the mission right?” 

    “Yeah… it was Allura actually. I guess she read about it in one of her dad’s journals. Alfor was the one to originally form the idea. You’re all handpicked by Allura though,” What was this mission they kept talking about? Who were the Galra? 

    “I can’t believe Iverson agreed to this… he was no help during Kerberos,” ouch, the bite in her voice was enough to kill. Matt sighed.

    “Who knows why… well, I got to go Katie. Just know that if you ever need me, I’ll be at the regular campus. My building isn’t too far from here so you can fly over whenever. Or walk, I guess. Talk to you later!”

    “Bye Matt” huh so Katie does have wings after all. Lance scolded himself for feeling disappointed about this. No one deserved to be wingless! Except, maybe him. Lance quickly his in the closest room when he realized Matt was going to see him if he didn’t move quickly. 

    A few minutes later, Lance saw the lights go off and assumed Katie was leaving then. He waited a few more minutes before he opened the door. He wasn’t even hungry anymore. He went back to his room with even more questions than he had begun with. Katie was somehow even more complicated than Lance had previously assumed. This only served to make Lance even more determined to truly befriend her. 

    He entered his bathroom and removed his facemask. Looking at the time, he realized it was a little past midnight. With a sigh, he took out his headphones and plugged them into his phone.

    If he was lucky, the music would serve to clear his mind of his thoughts and allow him to sleep easier. If he wasn’t lucky the music would only serve to keep him even more awake and he’d be up for another two or three hours. 

    Luckily it wasn’t one of Those Nights and he was able to go to sleep soon after, dreaming up bright blue skies, sad honey-colored eyes, and the feeling of wind sifting through feathers. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! Please give feedback and anything you hope to see happen in future chapters! If you have any other requests for stories, I'd be happy to hear those too!


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